The Transfer Tavern

Rangers supporters have been drowning their sorrows in the Transfer Tavern this week after seeing their team’s slim Scottish Premiership hopes all but banished courtesy of a 3-2 defeat in the Old Firm derby on Sunday.

Graeme Murty’s men went into their clash with leaders and defending champions Celtic having won each of their previous four league matches, a run which moved them to within three points of the Bhoys ahead of kick-off on Sunday. Yet the Gers were unable to really put the pressure on Brendan Rodgers’ side as Odsonne Edouard’s second half winner sealed all three points for Celtic, who had twice equalised through Tom Rogic and Moussa Dembele after Josh Windass and Daniel Candeias twice gave Murty’s side the lead.

The 33-year-old made the move north of the border back in 2016 but has struggled to make a meaningful impact at Rangers, having mustered just 26 appearances for the club, in which time he has bagged three goals and laid on six assists.

However, injuries have played a part in his difficulties, most notably a serious knee problem last season which ruled him out for the best part of eight months, and with his contract up in the summer, there were reports last month that the midfielder was considering his future in the game.

Ultimately though, this recent update is unlikely to surprise our resident Rangers supporters, especially given that the £450,000-rated star (as per Transfermarkt) has failed to feature in any of their last eight league matches.

Landlord’s verdict: Niko Kranjcar’s Rangers career has been decimated by a serious knee problem sustained back in October 2016, which ruled him out of action for eight months.

And with just a handful of appearances since returning at the start of this season, the 33-year-old’s future at the club has been speculated upon by many Gers fans in the Tavern, especially after comments from the player’s father last month plunged into doubt whether he’d continue playing football beyond the summer.

And reliable broadcaster Bill Young has provided a significant update on Twitter, stating that the midfielder will ‘call it a day’ at the conclusion of the current campaign, thus seemingly bringing to an end a two-year stay at Ibrox in news unlikely to surprise our resident Rangers supporters.